Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, announced the re-release of its peripheral lineup for Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm expansion, the highly anticipated next installment of the acclaimed StarCraft franchise. The entire suite of StarCraft II peripherals, designed specifically for the prestigious real-time strategy (RTS) game, is once again available in all its glory. The line includes the Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse, the Razer Marauder StarCraft II Gaming Keyboard and the Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset.

"The initial response we received on the announcement of the original StarCraft II peripherals was simply amazing and, as a way of giving back to our diehard fans and the StarCraft community, we want to make these products available once more," said Min-Liang Tan – co-founder, CEO and creative director of Razer. "These peripherals speak to the quality of Razer products as a whole and give StarCraft players the edge they crave on the battlefield."

The Razer Spectre, Razer Marauder and Razer Banshee all feature custom-backlighting to match any gaming rig and are able to electrify StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm gameplay through an APM (Actions-Per-Minute) Lighting System. The APM Lighting System offers a fully integrated gaming experience that responds directly to a player's maneuvers and speed, providing vibrant performance feedback that gamers can see. Each peripheral also features a gaming-optimized design with an emphasis on portability for tournament play and is stylized with design elements from the StarCraft universe.

The announcement comes in the wake of StarCraft II's successful 2012 tournament season.

Additionally, fans of the popular RTS title can enter for a chance to win each of the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm peripherals by going to www.razerzone.com/HOTSsweepstakes.

About the Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse
Tournament-ready and designed for StarCraft II, the Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse is a lightweight, five-button mouse designed to provide precision and control for RTS gamers. The Razer Spectre features the newly developed APM Lighting System with a multicolor LED that provides real-time performance feedback through changing lighting hues and adjustable mouse button force settings for optimal mouse click speed and control. Equipped with a powerful 5600 dpi Razer Precision 3.5G laser sensor and a 1000 Hz Ultrapolling/1 ms response time, the Razer Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Mouse gives gamers exactly what they are looking for in an RTS mouse.

About the Razer Marauder StarCraft II Gaming Keyboard
Designed for StarCraft II, the Razer Marauder StarCraft II Gaming Keyboard is a full-featured, tournament-ready keyboard maximized for compact design. The Razer Marauder features a multi-color backlit keyboard with an APM Lighting System that provides real-time performance feedback through changing color hues to complement the gaming experience. Enhanced with elevated keys for rapid command input and improved gaming performance and a dedicated on-the-fly macro recording system, the Razer Marauder is built with a gaming-optimized design inspired by the StarCraft universe.

About the Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset
Designed for StarCraft II, with a focus on maximum performance, comfort and sound isolation, the Razer Banshee StarCraft II Gaming Headset features a newly developed, multi-color APM Lighting System that provides real-time feedback on player performance. The Razer Banshee is equipped with a configuration utility for customized adjustments of equalizer, pitch and volume. Other special features include a detachable microphone boom for easy transport and a comfortable circumaural construction, all in a gaming-optimized design inspired by the StarCraft universe.

Why not? A little decal over plain ol black/white is always nice, especially if its only a little more than what you would pay for the plain version. The difference between Steelseries Xai normal and "game version" can be as little as £0.

Why not? A little decal over plain ol black/white is always nice, especially if its only a little more than what you would pay for the plain version. The difference between Steelseries Xai normal and "game version" can be as little as £0.

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why not? because i am a grown ass man and i don't want my electronics to look like kids toys.

a matter of taste would be choosing between a black keyboard and a grey keyboard. this is a matter of maturity. my point is: bundling a "toy" keyboard like this one with a mechanical keyboard would put its price-point out of range of the intended audience.

I feel like an idiot...I've never heard of Starcraft II. Although, I clicked in to join the discussion because of the blocky looking mouse. Any time I see something that 'might' fit my left hand....I have to take a look. The choices of worthy mice...are very limited.

That mouse looks really uncomfortable. I have tried a lot of gaming mice. I still have not found anything better than a G500 that is anywhere near the $50 range. I bought mine for $35 and I don't think mice or keyboards should cost $100 or more.
I wish I can use the old IBM mechanical keyboards and give it a new shell. Maybe I can get one and just paint it all flat black.

The whole set is pretty good for the game it is designed to. It is a themed set. The mouse is pretty short for claw-type grip. Check out some of the South Korean pros and you quickly see why and software bundle that comes with it is pretty useful. You can see you APM based on the colour you set. For SC2 is nice, for anything else I highly doubt it.

Well, what do you know, Razer is at it again, spreading a lot of bulshit:
- the Starcraft II peripherals have been available since launch, there has been no shortage
- the build quality is abhorent, within 4 weeks of use I got spots where the paint was gone. and I don't have acid for sweat like the aliens have acid for blood
- the prices are an insult, same number for both US and EU means in EU they are ~30% more expensive
- the mouse sensor has a fit on the screen if hair from my cat interferes with it, dances around and generally annoys the hell out of me, especially in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, it messes badly with my targeting

The only thing to like is the changing of lights done automatically depending on which application is on.